Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle (PC/DOS) 1993, ORIGIN Systems, Inc
83Ultima VII: Part Two - Serpent Isle is a role-playing video game released in 1993 as part of the core Ultima series, its story beginning eighteen months after the conclusion of Ultima VII: The Black Gate. In Serpent Isle, the Avatar follows Batlin to the eponymous land called Serpent Isle, finding three city-states founded by those who left Britannia generations before and ancient ruins from a still-older lost civilization that was there long before them.
This is the first game in the main Ultima series to take place in its entirety outside Britannia as it has been known since Ultima III. It is also more linear than the earlier parts—unlike the earlier games, where the order in which quests were completed was of little concern, the new approach makes it possible to give the game a more carefully plotted storyline, while at the same time somewhat limiting the player's choice. Additionally, there are few optional sub-quests; every objective somehow ties into the main quest.
Unlike the four previous Ultimas, the companions do not take issue with theft or murder. The only punishment for such behavior is if characters outside the party witness it. As the world of Serpent Isle does not emphasize the virtues the way Britannia does, guards will sometimes ask for bribes from the Avatar if the player is caught stealing or murdering; bribing guards was last possible in the game Ultima III.
Since most of the game's code was recycled from The Black Gate, it was decided not to call it Ultima VIII; Richard Garriott had stated in interviews around 1988 that no two Ultimas shared the same source code, unlike the then-competing The Bard's Tale series, and he may have felt bound by this statement.
The Silver Seed expansion adds the Silver Seed story arc to the game, in which the party visits a subterranean keep in the ancient civilization of Serpent Isle (centuries in the past, during the war between the two sects of Ophidians). The Avatar is given an amulet by the Xenkan Monks when he or she first visits Monk Isle (either by death or by physically going there), and after using this amulet at one of the Serpent Gates, the subquest begins. Powerful magic items, including a keyring, a ring of unlimited reagents, a magic axe and an enchanted belt can be found in this area and in nearby dungeons. In later releases of the game, the expansion pack was included, and both games and expansions were released as The Complete Ultima VII.
The Silver Seed expansion was not properly finished due to a rushed release by Electronic Arts; the story told in the expansion does not properly conclude, nor does it seem to connect with the larger plot of Serpent Isle outside of a few incidental framing elements. It is broadly concerned with acquiring and planting a magical silver seed to maintain the balance that holds the world of Serpent Isle together. The Silver Seed does attempt to address the issue of the population being killed off after the Banes are released; if completed after this takes place, Karnax will inform the Avatar that everyone killed by the Banes will be resurrected once Balance is restored, in the conclusion of the game itself.
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